Tag: eternal

Living on the Edge

Posted on by Olaf

Life on the edge is where explorers, astronauts and extreme athletes choose to live. It is demanding and risky which is why they are so admired. Yet in another sense, we all live on some edge – it could be financial constraints, health limitations, emotional well-being or our personal abilities. These all will ebb and flow like the tide through our lives. The edge is always on the move. There is another more important edge – the edge of eternity. All human beings share one thing – we are all one heartbeat away from knowing if eternity exists beyond the grave.

End Times

Posted on by Olaf

Most of us prefer beginnings to endings – the starting of a new chapter, the first day of your holiday or the birth of a child. And yet, we all know these things will end because our experience of life is linear. Scientists suggest that the world began with the ‘big bang’ and many fear that it will end with a big bang either from an asteroid or a nuclear one of our own making. The world will not end because of over population, disease, wars or even global warming. These may well be accompanying signs as you can read in the book that is all about beginnings and endings, the Bible which is God’s Word to us.

Resolution

Posted on by Olaf

What does it take to be a resolute person and is that necessarily a good thing?  It sometimes manifests itself as stubbornness which can be a weakness that many of us are prone to.  Would you describe yourself as a determined person or just plain stubborn?! This famous natural arch has been withstanding the strongest waves for many years giving a great example of resolution and yet the time will no doubt come when it will cave in to the sorrow of many who have swum through it.  Whilst Durdle Door remains standing, sadly the Azure Window rock arch which was even larger collapsed in recent years.  Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described this event as ’heart-breaking’.  It is sad indeed when someone’s resolution is broken – the stronger and longer-standing the resolution, the greater the sorrow with a subsequent collapse.

  • ‘If you asked me for my New Year Resolution, it would be to find out who I am’ – Cyril Cusack
  • ‘God help us, we can't keep up this pulling, that is certain. Amongst ourselves we are unendingly cheerful, but what each man feels in his heart I can only guess’ – Robert Falcon Scott

Victory Over Defeat

Posted on by Olaf

Do you live in the shadows or in the sun?  If you take a few minutes to consider the highs and lows of your life so far, how do you think it adds up? We all want to live on ‘victory hilltop’ but often find ourselves in the ‘valley of defeat’.  This can be related to achievements, finances, relationships, moral decisions, faith and our walk with God.  Rather than being a steady progression, for many Christians life seems more like a game  of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ – one minute riding high and the next crashing down a spiral of disappointment when apparent success has given way to abject failure.  This woodland walk is beset with pitfalls from unseen hazards in the shadows but there is a better path heading towards the light.  How to get on the path where gains outweigh losses and victory triumphs over defeat?

  • ‘The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile’ – Plato
  • ‘Every moment of resistance to temptation is a victory’ – Frederick William Faber

Faithfulness

Posted on by Olaf

Is this a modern or old-fashioned word would you say?  Can you remember the last time you heard it used?  Does it belong to fairy tales of the past and the world of the gramophone?  Peter Rabbit might have chewed carrots like they were going out of fashion but let us chew on the relevance or otherwise of ‘faithfulness’ for our society today and for our own lives.  True enough, the word may belong to a relatively small circle, but the concept is still very much needed.  You may struggle to find many examples of this beautiful and most precious attribute lauded in the public arena but you will find many relationships that would have thrived if it was applauded in our private lives.  In this era of Tweets, faithfulness is perhaps seen as being a little ‘twee’.  How would you value it or quantify it?

  • ‘Indeed, this life is a test. It is a test of many things – of our convictions and priorities, our faith and our faithfulness, our patience and our resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires’ – Sheri L Dew